NEWS

ROCKVILLE, Md. – December 3, 2018–NeoImmuneTech, Inc., an immunotherapy drug development company focused on advanced cancer treatments, today announced the presentation of two preclinical studies supporting the potential of combining Hyleukin-7^TMTM with Universal CAR-T (UCART) treatment to enhance and prolong the activity of allogeneic “off-the-shelf” adoptive immunotherapy for the treatment of B cell and T cell lymphomas. The data were presented in an oral presentation and a poster session at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, CA.

The two studies, conducted in collaboration with researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, evaluated the effects that Hyleukin-7^TM, a long-acting T cell amplifier, had in combination with different types of UCART treatments. The researchers evaluated Hyleukin-7^TM’s effects on proliferation, differentiation and tumor killing capacity of UCARTs in tumor models of B cell lymphoma and T cell lymphoma. The T cell lymphoma model was a physiologically-relevant patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse model of Sézary syndrome (SS), an aggressive and highly-morbid cutaneous T cell lymphoma with no widely-effective treatments.

Hyleukin-7^TM was shown to dramatically enhance UCART proliferation, persistence and tumor killing in vivo, resulting in enhanced survival in both models. Furthermore, the results suggest that the addition of Hyleukin-7^TM dramatically increased the activity of UCART treatment and could provide a tunable, clinic-ready “enabling therapy” for suboptimal CART activity in vivo.

“NeoImmuneTech’s Hyleukin-7^TM has broad potential to strengthen our immune system in its battle against both foreign invaders as well as enemies within, adding a therapeutic effect wherever the body’s T cells are weak or in low numbers,” said Se Hwan Yang, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of NeoImmuneTech. “These latest experiments in lymphoma models show that Hyleukin-7^TM may also strengthen and prolong the effects of T cell therapies, such as CAR-T. The beneficial effects of Hyleukin-7^TM when combined with UCART are highly encouraging, as developing an effective, off-the-shelf and universal CAR-T therapeutic is a major goal for immuno-oncology drug developers. NeoImmuneTech’s main focus is advancing our clinical trials with Hyleukin-7^TM as efficiently as possible so that we can ultimately deliver it in a timely manner to patients in need.”

Dr. John F. DiPersio, M.D., Ph.D., Chief, Division of Oncology and Deputy Director of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine added: “CAR-T therapies hold a great promise for cancer patients, as well as for other diseases. We have made incredible steps toward creating a universal CAR-T that would highly increase the percent of people that can benefit from this technology, while significantly decreasing the time to treatment and the cost of production. However, a major hurdle that still remains for both current and future CAR-T treatments is the short effective period for these cells in the body. Hyleukin-7^TM has the potential to boost both the time and the effectivity of CAR-T treatments, and we are looking forward to the continued clinical development of this drug candidate.”

Presentation Details:
Abstract number:340
Title: Modeling Sézary Syndrome for Immunophenotyping and Anti-Tumor Effect of Ucart and Long-Acting Interleukin-7 Combination Therapy
Type: Oral presentation
Time: Sunday, December 2, 2018: 10:15 AM
Location: Room 28D (San Diego Convention Center)

Abstract number: 2199
Title: A Long-Acting Pharmacological Grade Interleukin-7 Molecule Logarithmically Accelerates Ucart Proliferation, Differentiation, and Tumor Killing
Type: Poster presentation
Time: Saturday, December 1, 2018, 6:15 PM-8:15 PM
Location: Hall GH (San Diego Convention Center)

About Hyleukin-7^TM
Hyleukin-7^TM (rhIL-7-hyFc, NT-I7), an immuno-oncology agent, is a T cell amplifier comprising a covalently linked homodimer of engineered Interleukin-7 (IL-7) molecule, biologically fused with the proprietary long-acting platform – hyFc™. IL-7 is known to be a critical factor for T cells, acting to increase both the number and functionality of T cells. Hyleukin-7^TM could play a pivotal role in reconstituting and reinvigoratiing T cell immunity in the treatment of patients with cancer and lymphopenia, as well as providing unique opportunities for immuno-oncology (IO) combination strategies. Hyleukin-7^TM is being developed as an “IO enabling” therapy to harness T cell immunity in combination with current cancer treatments such as anti-PD-(L)1 agents or chemo/radiotherapy. NeoImmuneTech and Genexine, Inc. (Genexine) are collaborating in three Phase 1b/2a clinical trials in advanced solid tumors and glioblastoma in the US and Korea.

About NeoImmuneTech
NeoImmuneTech, a Genexine related company founded in 2014, is focused on leading the development efforts for its flagship immunotherapy product, Hyleukin-7^TM, in the U.S. and EU. Based in Rockville, Maryland, NeoImmuneTech has the core competency of global clinical and business development with a strong scientific focus and a broad network of global leading R&D organizations. NeoImmuneTech is currently conducting Phase 1b/2a clinical trials of Hyleukin-7^TM, aiming at developing not only the first-in-class treatment of lymphopenia but also a breakthrough cancer immunotherapy. www.neoimmunetech.com